Thursday 10 May 2012 10.28 EDT
First published on Thursday 10 May 2012 10.28 EDT

Formula One, suddenly, is bathed in Catalan sunshine. It is back to what it does best: racing cars. The sport has returned to its European heartland. This weekend the engines will scream at its track in Barcelona, a benchmark for a car's all-round ability, which is why the teams come here in pre-season. And in two weeks we will be in Monaco, the glittering jewel in the crown of the whole shebang, the annual celebration of a sport that knows how to push the yacht out.

For a short time, at least, we can take a deep breath and put the awfulness of Bahrain to one side. It was easy to take the high ground in Bahrain, because Formula One had decided to occupy the moral low ground. The sport should not have been anywhere near the place last month. It was plain wrong. Black and white. No intermediate greys. And those who said different were, mostly, not there at the time.

The argument that F1 had a contract to fulfil is a specious one. The obligation to see out a contract, even more than patriotism, is a last refuge. It is more honourable to walk away from a rotten contract than to "honour" it. The sport should never be allowed to forget what it did in Bahrain last month. It should be reminded at regular intervals of the self-inflicted damage it sustained.

But, for now, it is gone. All roads lead to the Circuit de Catalunya. The season, it feels, is starting over. No one knows who holds the advantage. Even the cars look newish. Every one seems to have something different bolted on. In the four races so far no one has gained a clear advantage. Everything is up for grabs.

Barcelona feels a good place to be. It is one of the world's great cities, even though it has been half-ruined by its robbers. It is awash with wonders, and they seem that little bit brighter right now.

Beside La Rambla, the Sagrada Familia, the Gothic cathedral and the Picasso Museum, which is housed in a medieval palace, the Circuit de Catalunya is hardly a special place.

But even here, in the shadow of the Pyrenees, there is a feeling of renewal, a sense of healing. Even the ugly wounds inflicted by the builders' JCBs, so evident in March and last year, have gone, replaced by a shiny new train station.

The circuit evokes heady memories of its first race, in 1991, when Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell went wheel to wheel at 200mph. Three years later, Michael Schumacher brought his car home in second place even though he spent much of the race with his gearbox jammed in fifth. Schumacher has won here six times.

The track was built just before the city hosted the 1992 Olympics and was used for the cycling road team time trial. In truth, it is not one of the great circuits. There are few proper overtaking opportunities. But who cares? Who cares even that this country is more interested in motorbike racing than F1, even in the era of Fernando Alonso?

Formula One is in town. The Spanish – for this weekend, at least – can forget pressing economic woes. And F1 folk have lost their pensive, drained expressions and are smiling once more. They are in a better place.